Play It And Learn (PIAL) is a collection of educational games from 1955-1995, that were known for their influence on learning and education, inside and outside the classroom. Some games were explicitly educational; e.g. Oregon Trail, Mavis Beacon's Typing Tool; while others were educational almost by accident; e.g. SimCity, Civilization. We present them here so researchers can analyze them, players can play them, and the play can be measured and queried to accumulate qualitative data on the player's experience and match that to quantitative data from the player's actions. The most useful data may come from comparing results from several versions of the same game, and by looking a person's learning style across a variety of games. Key captures and questionnaires will be as unintrusive as is reasonable.
The following is a template for each game's page. We will strive for commonality so users recognize which part of the museum they are visiting.
Game Name
Hit the button, play the game, add to the data.
The official name, the common name, and the version in the case of series.
Game Description
The official portrayal of the game, the way most folks described it, and links to documentation.
EdTech Significance
Direct effects of intentional and unintentional lessons taught, influence on other projects and people, time, number of players, and distribuition.
Game Play Data
As players play, data will be collected and presented. Privacy and security assurances will be provided.
Bibliography
Links to documentation, analyses, stories, histories, developers' biographies
Play It And Learn
Game Name
Game Description
EdTech Significance
Game Play Data
Bibliography
Simulation, History and Computer Games (A Chapter in Cyberhistory: Historical Computer Games and Post-Structuralist Historiography,” in Jeffrey Goldstein and Joost Raessens, Handbook of Computer Games Studies (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005): 327-338)
Play It And Learn
Play It And Learn (PIAL) is a collection of educational games from 1955-1995, that were known for their influence on learning and education, inside and outside the classroom. Some games were explicitly educational; e.g. Oregon Trail, Mavis Beacon's Typing Tool; while others were educational almost by accident; e.g. SimCity, Civilization. We present them here so researchers can analyze them, players can play them, and the play can be measured and queried to accumulate qualitative data on the player's experience and match that to quantitative data from the player's actions. The most useful data may come from comparing results from several versions of the same game, and by looking a person's learning style across a variety of games. Key captures and questionnaires will be as unintrusive as is reasonable.
The following is a template for each game's page. We will strive for commonality so users recognize which part of the museum they are visiting.
Game Name
The official name, the common name, and the version in the case of series.
Game Description
The official portrayal of the game, the way most folks described it, and links to documentation.EdTech Significance
Direct effects of intentional and unintentional lessons taught, influence on other projects and people, time, number of players, and distribuition.Game Play Data
As players play, data will be collected and presented. Privacy and security assurances will be provided.Bibliography
Links to documentation, analyses, stories, histories, developers' biographiesPlay It And Learn
Game Name
Game Description
EdTech Significance
Game Play Data
Bibliography
Simulation, History and Computer Games (A Chapter in Cyberhistory: Historical Computer Games and Post-Structuralist Historiography,” in Jeffrey Goldstein and Joost Raessens, Handbook of Computer Games Studies (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005): 327-338)